How viable are these heal comps?

So for a 10 man raiding guild Normals / and Heroics. how would these comps fair in 5.4 not currently.

Option 1 Hpally, MW Monk , Shaman.

Option 2 Hpally , MW Monk , Druid.

Option 3 Hpally , MW Monk , Disc priest.

Im more interested in the first two as in im having a harder time finding a suitable disc priest for the team. I understand their needed for a lot of heroic fights but anyone else use the other comp? Something similar? Do fairly well without disc?

I mean shamans look like they have a lot of raid cooldowns now that Healing Tide is baseline.

The 3rd option, Disc Is Amazing if it done right, There More you can Mitigate the less chance people will panic when there health Drops. The Problem with shaman is that they Suffer if theres Movement or lack of constant Stacking in a fight.

I'd go with options 2 or 3. 3 will probably be better, ideal comp might be Hpally/druid/disc for 10m in 5.4 with the druid changes, but 2x absorb and 1x throughput healer is going to get you the best mileage. Option 2 is going to make up for some lack of absorbs through pretty massive throughput.

I'd go with the one with more consistent attendance and knowledge of hes class/spec. Bring the player that's willing to adapt, change and is willing to learn the fight. This hole "X class is far behind" ideas roaming around are only significant at world-first-race levels of play... if ever.

100% buff to Healing Rain (resto only) then 30% nerf to baseline is a net 40% buff for Healing Rain. There's also the 2 yard increase range which is really much larger than it sounds; it's a 44% increase increase to the area (CIRCLES!). Their Chain Heal also will no longer reduce its healing with each bounce (which will be 60% buff when hitting 4 targets) and the glyph to increase its jump range has been made less punishing. Healing Tide Totem going baseline gives them another talent which will likely go towards Rushing Stream which dramatically improves Healing Stream Totem (130% buff to an already powerful smart heal). They also got a 25% mana reduction on Riptide and a buff to the glyph that removes its CD.

Make no mistake, these are massive buffs.

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All healing comps are viable, this is doubly true for those comps that don't have more than one of any healer. Druids are also getting some meaningful buffs. Disc Priests are seeing some nerfs, but they're so far above the other healers currently that they'll still be a top option. Find the best player and you'll have the best healer comp.

100% buff to Healing Rain (resto only) then 30% nerf to baseline is a net 40% buff for Healing Rain. There's also the 2 yard increase range which is really much larger than it sounds; it's a 44% increase increase to the area (CIRCLES!). Their Chain Heal also will no longer reduce its healing with each bounce (which will be 60% buff when hitting 4 targets) and the glyph to increase its jump range has been made less punishing. Healing Tide Totem going baseline gives them another talent which will likely go towards Rushing Stream which dramatically improves Healing Stream Totem (130% buff to an already powerful smart heal). They also got a 25% mana reduction on Riptide and a buff to the glyph that removes its CD.

Make no mistake, these are massive buffs.

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All healing comps are viable, this is doubly true for those comps that don't have more than one of any healer. Druids are also getting some meaningful buffs. Disc Priests are seeing some nerfs, but they're so far above the other healers currently that they'll still be a top option. Find the best player and you'll have the best healer comp.

Yeah im starting to find that bring the player not the class is super true... but bringing awesome players that are OP classes is even better. But atm looking like I may not get a disc... looking more like a shaman and hes very geared / skilled so I mean should work out.

100% buff to Healing Rain (resto only) then 30% nerf to baseline is a net 40% buff for Healing Rain. There's also the 2 yard increase range which is really much larger than it sounds; it's a 44% increase increase to the area (CIRCLES!). Their Chain Heal also will no longer reduce its healing with each bounce (which will be 60% buff when hitting 4 targets) and the glyph to increase its jump range has been made less punishing. Healing Tide Totem going baseline gives them another talent which will likely go towards Rushing Stream which dramatically improves Healing Stream Totem (130% buff to an already powerful smart heal). They also got a 25% mana reduction on Riptide and a buff to the glyph that removes its CD.

Make no mistake, these are massive buffs.

---

All healing comps are viable, this is doubly true for those comps that don't have more than one of any healer. Druids are also getting some meaningful buffs. Disc Priests are seeing some nerfs, but they're so far above the other healers currently that they'll still be a top option. Find the best player and you'll have the best healer comp.

You see, I'd argue against this. That's the issue, they are buffing Resto Shamans quite a bit but it's a buff that hits 25mans the most and they will continue to balance around that. If it ends up being too good in 25's, it will be nerfed again.

The issue with shamans is simple they have no spread healing. They are RETARDLY good when people stack. Megaera, Ra-den but when you have something like Twins? Send the resto shaman to pain brosky, he's useless outside.

There was also the issue of what set-up they are in. It will be less the case in the next patch but a Hpala or Disc Priest was simply raping your shaman. The mastery is really bad in 10man with an absorb healer because well... damage prevention! :3

Shamans will be good, they will be better but still nowhere next to the other healers for 10man.

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Originally Posted by BetrayedOf52

Yeah im starting to find that bring the player not the class is super true... but bringing awesome players that are OP classes is even better. But atm looking like I may not get a disc... looking more like a shaman and hes very geared / skilled so I mean should work out.

Oh it WILL work out :P But you did ask what's the best option. Provided equal skill/gear I'd still say shamans lag behind but that remains to be seen.

You see, I'd argue against this. That's the issue, they are buffing Resto Shamans quite a bit but it's a buff that hits 25mans the most and they will continue to balance around that. If it ends up being too good in 25's, it will be nerfed again.

The issue with shamans is simple they have no spread healing. They are RETARDLY good when people stack. Megaera, Ra-den but when you have something like Twins? Send the resto shaman to pain brosky, he's useless outside.

There was also the issue of what set-up they are in. It will be less the case in the next patch but a Hpala or Disc Priest was simply raping your shaman. The mastery is really bad in 10man with an absorb healer because well... damage prevention! :3

Shamans will be good, they will be better but still nowhere next to the other healers for 10man.

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Oh it WILL work out :P But you did ask what's the best option. Provided equal skill/gear I'd still say shamans lag behind but that remains to be seen.

True... I can't remember the last time I felt the need to have a certain healer on my raid team. I preferred some back in the day and def felt like I needed a tank healer and Aoe heals back then too. but never the extent I feel with a disc priest now of days.

While I agree with this, having a resto shaman as 3rd healer, switching from elemental, is the best choice.
You are supposed to 3 heal very intensive fights, and the amount of CDs shamans have makes things VERY easy.

'Monogamy'? Is that one of the ways people in Boringland bore each other?-Curvy

For 5.4 I'd say the first option, the buffs to shaman are substantial for 10 mans, Chain Heal is extremely potent on the PTR. Shaman also bring a disproportionately large number of raid cooldowns compared to other healers. Druid's will likely have higher output over the course of a fight, but thats what you have a MW for, the shaman will provide what the holy paladin and MW lack - frequent capacity for massive output on demand.

All three work together really well, and you would certainly be able to do all the Normal & Heroic encounters with this set up easily without facing any shortfalls in healing. That said, as with all healing roles, it is more about the skill of the healer, I've known Shamans to massively out-perform Discipline Priests.

Keep in mind however, if you're struggling to find an appropriately geared and skilled Discipline Priest, and you have a Shaman or Druid willing to join, take them. While Discipline is really nice, unless you're playing within the top 20 guilds of the world, a Restoration Shaman or Druid would be able to do all the fights as well.

I think holy will be on top in BiS gear. It scales pretty well and the set bonuses look insane.
Dunno about discipline, they kept nerfing it through all MoP, but we're still up there. The OPness of the spec is more about mechanics than simple output.

'Monogamy'? Is that one of the ways people in Boringland bore each other?-Curvy